Saving money with coupons

I like to shop. But I hate spending money, so I love it when I can find a bargain.

When I shop online, I always look for coupons before I buy. A few weeks ago, someone pointed me to Ebates, a site that features coupons and cash back. Coupons AND cash back, you say? That’s right.

This is how it works: You sign up for Ebates. You browse for coupons and merchants based on what you’re looking to buy. Some of the coupons are pretty nice, various percentages off. But the unique thing about Ebates is that they also do cash back. For every purchase you make, you get a certain percent of that purchase credited to your Ebates account. Every three months, they cut you a “big fat check,” for your cash back credits. You have to have earned more than $5 to be eligible, but depending on what you buy and the value of the cash back, that’s not always hard.

I have been looking to replace my running shoes for a few weeks now. Running shoes are not cheap, and the cost is worth it for the reduction in pain in my knees and hips. I normally buy from a local store, but I knew exactly what shoes I wanted (the same make and model I have now), so I’ve been doing websearches for discounts and coupons. Thanks to Ebates, I saved over $25 on the shoes. How? They had a coupon code for 10% off any shoes at a particular shoe website, and then the website itself had a deal for new customers offering another 10% off. Then Ebates had an 8% cash back offer. And because of the price of the shoes, that meant the 8% back was over the $5 minimum, so I will be getting a big fat check sometime in the next few months.

If you’re interested in signing up for ebates and use this link, you will get $5 credited to your account. This sign-up bonus doesn’t count towards the $5 minimum for the check, but once you do reach that minimum, this $5 will be added to the value of your check.